Public Affairs Commons^™

Democratic Innovations In North America, Christopher F. Karpowitz, Chad Raphael

Communication

This chapter assesses the state of democratic innovations in North America, including the United States, Canada, and English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. We begin by setting these innovations in the contexts of democracy on the continent, which includes both established democracies and countries that have only recently decolonised. We go on to discuss major trends in democratic innovations over the past two decades in North America, including referendums and initiatives, mini-publics and collaborative governance, and digital participation in political and civic life. We note the broad range of issues addressed by these innovations and their effects on democratic institutions at …

At The Nexus Of Dallas' Neighborhood Arts Districts And Tax Incremental Financing Zones: The Question Of Affordable Housing In A Socially Just Economy, Katherine M. Kosut

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation examines the effects of urban economic development policies on affordable housing and the resident working-class populations within neighborhood arts district (NAD) and the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) support of the NAD revitalization. This study questions whether municipally endorsed “creative gentrification” in the form of the tax-based economic development policy—tax incremental financing—increases the effects of gentrification and housing affordability loss in low-income neighborhood arts districts in the United States, using Dallas TX as a case study. Historically intended to provide fit-housing in low-income “blighted” neighborhoods, States have adopted TIF policies in reliance upon the concept that “but-for” the use …

Comparing And Contrasting The Dynamics Influencing Urban And Economic Land Development Surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport And Dallas Love Field Airport, Anthony K. Chandler

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

With the surrounding layout of both Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and Dallas Love Field (DAL) Airport being shaped by and through differing contributing influences, one intriguing question for this diverse aviation region would be understanding the strategies for the resulting development adjoining both airports. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to create a comprehensive narrative of what dynamics (factors) influenced the development of areas adjoining both DFW & DAL Airports, and to understand how these airport-driven dynamics (factors) affected urban and economic development throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Through a historical outlook of both airports, this study will …

Budgeting In Times Of Fiscal Stress: An Analysis Of The Budget Process And Resource Allocation Of Social Programs In A Large Urban County From 2006-2017, Ronica L. Watkins Babers

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Grusky, et al. (2011) refer to the Great Recession as a transformative event that spiraled into as systemic crisis affecting both the public and private sector. Although the origin of the Great Recession was in the collapse of the housing market, it, in turn, created and sustained a crisis in both the financial sector as well as the labor market (Fligstein and Goldstein, 2012). The downturn would eventually lead to the most significant labor market dislocation in the post- Depression era, driving up high and long-term unemployment as well as involuntarily working part-time individuals (Grusky et al. 2011). Each level …

Exploring The Relationship Of Sound With The Urban Environment: A Strategic Inquiry On The Impacts Of And Design And Planning Responses To Sound In Transit-Oriented Developments (Tods), Yalcin Yildirim

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Over the last decades, Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) have stimulated heated debates. Researchers have fully explored the TODs' quality-of-life characteristics; however, sound/noise impacts are under-explored in the field. This dissertation explores the planning and design implications of sounds in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area TODs. TODs include potentials to cover a broad range of sounds that improve the quality-of-life (QoL). Since sound studies should not only rely on in-situ sound measurements and it should also examine the subjective aspects of the sound as the dissertation examines the perception of the individuals on sounds in TODs, the project required a certain number …

Are Smarter Neighborhoods, More Walkable?, Golnaz Keshavarzihaghighi

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation seeks to investigate the association between smart city initiatives and neighborhoods’ walkability. The preference for living in walkable neighborhoods has grown remarkably since 2017, in comparison to previous years, and residents of walkable neighborhoods show more satisfaction regarding their quality of life. In recent decades, people tend to live in communities that provide better QoL and are more receptive to their needs. Meanwhile, with new technology advancements, residents and visitors have become more involved, and cities have become more responsive in recognizing their demands and providing solutions and services. Although technology plays a vital role in smart cities, …

Blueprint For Shared Safety Strategic Plan, Reann Ramos

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Blueprint for Shared Safety strategic plan will be adopted by Santa Cruz County Community Corrections Partnership as a framework of principles and practices that community leaders can use to lead shared safety strategies. By shifting the focus from the traditional criminal justice system to investments that can truly make our communities safer, the Blueprint aims to re-envision public safety together. The Community Corrections Partnership Community Education and Engagement Workgroup (CCP CEEW) has conducted data analysis to identify the key assets and gaps in Santa Cruz County. After identifying the key assets and gaps there were recommendation review sessions that …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Cultivation Approach To Place-Based Philanthropy: Evaluation Findings From The Clinton Foundation’S Community Health Transformation Initiative, Douglas Easterling, Sabina Gesell, Laura Mcduffee, Whitney Davis, Tanha Patel

The Foundation Review

Cultivation is a decentralized approach to place-based philanthropy where the foundation seeks to activate local stakeholders and assist them in translating their ideas into action. Rather than convening a strategic planning process, cultivation presumes that the seeds of high-payoff solutions are already circulating somewhere in the community. The foundation’s role is to support local stakeholders in developing and implementing their own ideas in ways that produce meaningful impacts.

This article describes the cultivation approaches taken by the Clinton Foundation, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and The Colorado Health Foundation, and presents findings from an evaluation of the Clinton Foundation’s Community …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Moving Upstream: An Intersectoral Collaboration To Build Sustainable Planning Capacity In Rural And Appalachian Communities, Laura Milazzo, Holly Raffle, Matthew Courser

The Foundation Review

As part of an effort to address health inequities in Appalachian and rural Ohio, the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services developed an upstream intersectoral health innovation that specifically addressed the lack of infrastructure and other capacity issues that create barriers to obtaining federally funded prevention services among communities with the highest need for those services.

The department partnered with two nonprofit organizations and a university to create a performance-based, stepping-stone investment strategy that provided monetary awards to community organizations and included intensive, customized training and technical assistance that promoted capacity- building for data-driven strategic planning.

This article …

Can Coaching Help Community Partnerships Promote Health Equity, Community Engagement, And Policy, Systems, And Environmental Changes? Results From An Evaluation, Jung Y. Kim, Lisa Schottenfeld, Michael Cavanaugh

The Foundation Review

Foundations and other entities have increasingly funded coaching and technical assistance to support multisector community partnerships to promote health and health equity. However, much remains to be learned about how coaching can best support these partnerships.

As part of its efforts to build a culture in which everyone in the United States has a fair opportunity to be healthy, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to provide structured coaching to strengthen the capacities of community partnerships. The foundation contracted with Mathematica to evaluate the coaching program, focusing on whether it had an …

Capacity-Building Catalysts: A Qualitative Assessment Of Nonprofit Capacity Building By Community Foundations In Illinois, Benjamin Bingle

The Foundation Review

Community foundations have the potential to promote collaborative learning in a variety of ways as conveners, funders, and, in some instances, as nonprofit capacity builders. Yet little is known about what community foundations are doing to support capacity building. This article focuses specifically on nonprofit capacity building that is funded, organized, or led by community foundations in Illinois.

First, this article identifies the capacity-building efforts of those community foundations. Next, it summarizes results from a qualitative survey to share insights from leaders of the foundations that offer capacity-building opportunities. These data shed new light on our collective understanding of how …

Balancing The Competing Demands Of Strategic Philanthropy: The Case Of The Delaware River Watershed Initiative, Edward W. Wilson, Carol Bromer, David Laroche

The Foundation Review

Strategic philanthropy requires striking a balance between two extremes. On one side is unilateral agenda-setting by the foundation and excessive reliance on its own intellectual frameworks and methods. On the other side is too much deference to competing voices from the field, with the risk that funding will be haphazard and incoherent. This article describes how the Delaware River Watershed Initiative, supported by the William Penn Foundation, has struggled to position itself between these two extremes.

Based on an evaluation conducted during the first four years of the initiative, the article examines four interrelated tensions: upfront planning versus emergent strategy, …

Strengthening The Ecosystem Of Capacity-Building Service Providers: A Case For Why It Matters, Caroline Altman Smith, Carla Taylor

The Foundation Review

Nonprofits frequently find it challenging to find providers best suited to meet their capacity-building needs. This can be especially true when looking for providers to strengthen racial equity capacity. Many nonprofits lack the time, networks, or expertise to identify what’s available and vet various options for cost, relevance, and quality.

When the Kresge Foundation designed a program to build leadership capacity through a racial equity lens among its grantees, it wanted to strengthen the marketplace of offerings as well. Kresge’s Fostering Urban Equitable Leadership program sought to build leadership capacity and add value for grantees by offering a curated menu …

Building Nonprofit Capacity To Achieve Greater Impact: Lessons From The U.S.-Mexico Border, Meg Loomis, Shirly Thomas, Carla Taylor

The Foundation Review

Foundations often rely on strong relationships with grantees doing frontline work in marginalized communities. Yet these nonprofits typically face myriad financial and policy pressures that must be managed amid increasing need for their services. Helping them expand their impact requires funders to invest in their grantees’ organizational health and capacity.

This article discusses the capacity-building funding experiences of Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, which saw firsthand the needs of grantees when it partnered with eight community-health organizations through its Sí Texas initiative and, in response, created a $1.5 million capacity-building program for those organizations.

This article also shares the …

Making Health Equity Real: Implementing A Commitment To Engage The Community Through Fellowships, Saphira M. Baker, Mark D. Constantine

The Foundation Review

Between 2016 and 2019, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation jumpstarted its transformation from a health legacy foundation committed to increasing access to health care to one promoting regional health equity through a racial and ethnic lens. A central component of this new focus was the trustees’ decision to invite community members to inform and advance the health equity strategy through two distinct community fellowship programs — the Equity + Health Fellowships. These programs ultimately provided the foundation with a new language, benchmarks, and structure for welcoming broader community engagement.

This article highlights the outcomes of both programs, how the experience with …

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.